And One More Thing
by Oomaki-chan
Summary: Yukine is young and new to the concept of "love". But when looking into what crushes really are, feelings for a certain god bubble up.
1. I have to say

The one thing that confused Yukine more than death was love. It wasn't that he didn't understand the concept, even at his age he knew the basics. Dating and kissing and stuff like that. Sometimes, when he wasn't needed for any jobs, he would walk into a near-by middle school, and he would often times hear the students talking about their crushes. They all seemed to have one.

As the young shinki worked on problems from an old math textbook, he thought about the idea of having a crush. To his knowledge, he'd never had one before. It was supposed to some girl he liked, right? Some girl who was special to him? He thought about it more. He didn't know too many people, even fewer girls. Narrowing it down shouldn't be hard.

His train of thought distracted him from the work he had been doing, and soon Yukine found himself laying on his back on the floor. He tried to think of any girl he might like, but no one stood out in his mind more than anyone else. As he thought about crushes, he thought about what he would do if he had one. The next step would be asking the person out, right? Go on dates... Yukine's face grew red at that thought. The shinki couldn't even remember being all that close with anyone other than that ridiculous god of his.

That was a scary thought in its own. That goofy nut of a "boss" that Yato is; introducing that to someone he liked would cause him to die all over again just from the embarrassment. "That guy's a total piece of work." Yukine muttered to himself. Sure, the minor god had his moments, and sometimes he could be pretty cool...-ish, but only in an odd, strange, incomprehensible way.

Yukine's attention was stolen away from his analysis of Yato when a familiar face entered the room.

"Hello." Hiyori smiled at the blonde boy who still lay on the floor. "What are you up to?"

The boy in question shrugged before pushing himself back up into a seated position. "Nothing much. Just thinking." He watched as Hiyori placed her bag down and sat down nearby.

"Thinking about what?"

Yukine didn't respond immediately. It was a sensitive subject for most people after all. Shouldn't he be cautious about it too? But then again, Hiyori was the only one he could ever talk about this with. "Hey Hiyori, do... do you have a crush on anyone?"

The school girl's eyes went wide briefly, as if taken aback by the question. "Um. Not at the moment. No." She studied the younger boy's expression. "Why?"

"Just wondering." Yukine replied all too quickly. He looked up at Hiyori to find that he was being stared at. "Er... Well, I... I was just wondering how to know if you have a crush on someone or not. I've always heard people talking about it, so I'm just a bit curious. That's all."

Hiyori laughed. "It that all?" She looked at the semi-blushing face of the boy. "Well, I mean, if you're curious I can tell you. But you have to actually listen." Yukine nodded his head at the girl and turned to face her directly, his legs crossed in front of him. "Alright then. The first thing about crushes is that you're always happy to see them, and you want to see them a lot."

Yukine thought about it. He didn't see too many people too often, but he felt like Yato was the closest fit to that description. 'Happy' to see that god was a stretch, but he didn't mind his company. As odd as it was, Yato made more sense to him than anyone else.

"Also," Hiyori started again. "You like them for who they are. N matter what they look like, you still like them."

Yato's face appeared in Yukine's head once more. It confused the boy. As strange as Ytao was, he could be pretty cool. And everyday was interesting because of him. Plus, despite that old tracks unit and bandana... thing, he didn't look kind of cool. _'Wait. Why the hell am I thinking he's cool and looks good?!'_ Yukine thought to himself. He mentally tried to slap the thought out of his head.

"So do you have someone in mind?" Hiyori's question brought the blonde's attention back to reality.

"No." He said. "No girls come to mind."

"What are you guys talking about?!" Suddenly Yato appeared in the room, his cellphone held up to his ear.

"Yukine was just asking abou-"

"Nothing." Yukine jumped in before Hiyori could finish. "Nothing important."

"Good." The minor god grinned. "'Cause we've got a job. Let's go!" Yato suddenly reached out and grabbed the shinki by the arm. Yukine felt his face get a bit warm, and he opened his mouth to protest, but before he could say anything, Yato teleported them to their destination.

The job itself wasn't difficult, or at least not with Yato's apparent OCD when it comes to cleaning. Yukine on the other hand wasn't the best at it, especially not cleaning an entire house.e request had something to do with cleaning up before some house party, but all Yukine knew was that he was expected to make the living room all neat and tidy, for only five yen? Granted, Yukina now knew better than to ask for more, but it still was annoying that all of his hard work was barely rewarded. Although the shinki didn't do nearly as much of the work as that crazy god he followed around. Yato was so much of a clean freak when it came to jobs he did that Yukine wondered why he was so ok with living under such gross conditions.

"You really like cleaning, don't you?" Yukine muttered as he watched the older guy carefully scrubbing the kitchen sink.

"Hmm? What was that?" Yato looked towards the blonde, smiling with a sponge in his hand.

Yukine looked at the smiled. As big as it normally was, it looked especially... Sparkly? Or maybe it was just the lighting it something? But for whatever reason, Yukine couldn't figure out why the minor god looked, well, handsome. "Did you do something different? With your hair or clothes or something?"

"I got the chance to shower this morning." The boy shrugged as he turned back to his cleaning.

"Hm..." That was probably it. He just looked better than normal because he was cleaned up. After all, it wasn't everyday that the guy's choppy black hair looked so soft, or his face smooth and without grease marks or scratches, that would occasionally make that god look a bit adorable, dreamy even... Yukine shook his head violently._ 'No. No, no, no, no, no! Those thoughts are not ok!'_

"Hey Yukine." Yato called to the blonde. He had finished his "little" cleaning frenzy and was packing up everything he'd used. "You ok?"

Yukine raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know." The black haired male shrugged. He picked up the coin that was his payment, flipped it in the air once, then dropped it into his treasured glass bottle. "Your face is a bit red and you look out of it. You sick or something?"

The fourteen year old grew extremely flustered for a moment, but managed to calm down after one breath, not that he really understood why he was in the first place. "I'm dead, remember? I can't get sick."

"Better sad than sorry." Yato jumped the boy and slung and arm around his shoulders. "I can't let my best shinki get sick or weak or something."

"I'm your only shinki." Yukine muttered. He tried to keep himself from blushing, or push Yato off for that matter. "If we're done then can we just get going?"

"Sure thing." Yato grinned and began leading the both of them out of the house. They stopped to say a quick 'good-bye' to the lady who had hired them, then left to go who knows where.

They ended up walking aorund the city, completely aimlessly. Yato was a big fan of window shopping, so Yukine watched as the minor god fawned over clothes, furniture, and the like, wishing that he could afford such items, as well as a place to put them. On occasion the god would ask Yukine what he thought about certain items, mainly clothes. When he would look at them, the blonde tried picturing Yato wearing them in his head. He had a feeling that just about anything would look good on the minor god, especially more form-fitting clothes. Truth be told, Yukine was certain that Yato would look pretty good in any kind of clothing. After all, he was able to make that ratty, old track suit look pretty decent, good even.

"Maybe we should try dressing-up sometime." Yato suggested as he looked at the window of a formal-wear store.

"It'd be nice if we could afford it." Yukine muttered, earning a chuckle in responce.

"One day I'll get you something nice." Yato looked his shinki dead in the eye, with an almost sincere smile on his face.

Yukine's eyes grew wide the moment he saw the expression on the black-haired boy's face. He stood still, with Yato standing across from him, and for a moment the work seemed to rush by without them. When the blonde realized he was starring he ducked his head down and looked at his feet as he tapped them awkwardly against the sidewalk.

"H-hey Yato..." Yukine spoke up. He noticed the ping of interest in his weilder's expression before he decided to continue. "Do you... Do you know a lot about c-c-crushes?"

The blonde couldn't believe that he had broughten it up. He cursed at himself for a moment.

"Um, I understand the concept?" Yato's voice was clearly questioning, obviously curious as to what the reason for the question was.

"Then," Yukine gulped down his nerves and looked up, coming eye to eye with royal blue. "Then, do you know if it's possibles to have a crush on a guy?"

Yato's eyes immediately went wide, realization at what exactly the boy before him was asking struck like a slap to the face. He studied the blonde's face for a moment, an action born out of complete loss for words, and saw the near red hue that spread across Yukine's cheecks. Then he thought about where the two of them were. The middle of a crowded sidewalk was no place to discuss a sensitive topic like this one. "Come with me." Yato said, reaching out and grabbing Yukine's hand before teleporting the both of them away. The two then appeared I. A forest-like area. In the light of the day buildings could be seen a ways past the branches, but here were no clear landmarks.

"So, um..." Yato began. He scratched the back of his head. "If you're talking about being gay, then yeah. Guys are able to, uh, 'have a crush' on other guys."

The topic seemed a bit uncomfortable from Yukine's point of view. But now that they were on it, it looked like there was no going back. "And it's normal, right?"

"It is now." Yato tried to put on a serious face, something he wasn,t to used to having in the company of his shinki. On the inside, however, he was having a little argument about just how much he should tell Yukine. "Look, Yukine, if you think you're gay then that's fine."

"Wh-wha-" The teen could feel his face get hot the second Yato had said that. _'Gay? I'm-'_ Then he thought about it. He thought about what Hiyori had told him earlier that day. Then about what he knew about crushed and liking someone. Then immediately about Yato. "O-ok..."

It grew silent right away, and uncomfortably so. Neither boy knew how to move on. Yukine could have sworn that Yato kept looking at him, starring even, and it peaked an interest into his head. Unable to control his own words anymore, he opened his mouth and said something he knew he shouldn't have. "So, about crushes again... D-do you have a crush on anyone right now?"

Yato shuttered at the question and felt his face get a bit warm. He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked away from the blonde. "I don't know if I'd call it a crush."

"Oh..." Yukine looked down at his feet. It was stupid of his to bring it up in the first place. He knew that before he even opened his mouth. But he couldn't help the curiosity that rushed through him.

"I'm, uh, guessing you have someone though?" The minor god tried his best not to make the situation more awkward than it already was. Even he knew he was failing miserably. But the little pinch in his gut only further convinced him that his hunch was correct. Now everything that escaped his lips was purely to verify it.

"Yeah. Probably." The blonde in question nodded.

"Who?" The moment the word left his mount Yato wanted to curse himself for saying it. What made it even worse was the absolute silence that came as a responce. Sri looked over to his shinki, who had turned from pale as a ghost to bright red. After mere moments, each feeling like and jour, he could hear Yukine murmuring something, but it was so inaudiable that he couldn't make out a single word.

"Um, Yukine?" Yato tried to be as careful as possible at this point, not wanting to upset his shinki.

"I said..." Yukine piped up, only to let his course do soft again. He managed to raise his head and look Yato in the eyes for a split second, but quickly advert end them as though looking directly at him would spark a fire. "I-I, I-I-I l-l-l-like... I like you."

Both boys froze where they were. Neither threatened to move even an inch. Yukine's words, his confession, rang out through the air, and met Yato'sears with a contagious blush and pounding heart. It was as through one wrong move could cause both of them to break, and fall, and lose their ability to discuss this matter forever. Both Yukine and Yato knew this. If this matter didn't get settled now, then it would remain impossible to talk about and will turn into a taboo topic. The real problem was now addressing it properly.

"Yukine I-"

"Haha. Sorry Yato." Yukine chuckled a bit._ 'What am I doing?'_ "That was, uh, that was a pretty bad joke."_ 'No. Stop it.'_ He could feel his voice catching in his throat. "So, uh, I-I'll just, um..." Yukine looked as though he were about to run or cry, or both. He could feel what felt like tears welling up in his eyes, and did his best to hold them back. _'I'm so stupid.'_

Without thinking, and to both of their surprise, Yato lunged forward and grabbed onto Yukine's hand, halting the blonde's retreat. "Don't run. You and I both know that once you run..."

The younger boy looked up at Yato with sad, pleading eyes, and a powdered blush.

"Let me actually respond before you run off." Yato smiled. His reply from the younger was a light nod of the head, followed by turning back so that the two were once again face-to-face. "Right. Now then," the god scratched the back of his head with his free hand, one still holding Yukine's. "Gosh I'm bad at this." He cursed himself. Yato knew exactly what he wanted to say, what he needed to say, but he was having trouble finding the correct words. Of course that happened to him once it actually mattered. Of course. The minor god wasn't the best with words. Anyone knew that. The minor god took a deep breath, then finally began saying what he had wanted to the moment this conversation began. "Yukine. You are a strong, smart guy, and I never could have asked for a better shinki. But, maybe I think of you too much as a shinki, and less as a person."

Two pairs of eyes met, confusion crossing over from Yukine's into Yato's. The blonde boy didnt quite know what was going on anymore. What was Yato trying to say? How was he supposed to react? A feeling of excitement mingled with disappointment because of the god's reaction to his confession. Even still, Yukine waited patiently, enjoying the feeling of his master's hand wrapped around his own. No matter what Yato said, no matter what the reply, Yukine was happy to at least get that much.

"So, um," Yato continued. "I think what I'm trying to say here is that I... I like you too."

Yukine's eyes widened and he almost wished that someone would pinch him and wake him and wake him up. "You're not lying to me, are you?" He asked, looking up with a world of worry in his eyes.

"I wouldn't lie about like that." Yato cracked a bit of a smile, about almost mockingly, yet lovingly, raised his free hand and ruffled through the golden-blonde locks ontop of Yukine's head. "It might not be quite as strong, but it's deffinetly a there. And I can't ignore it, or lie about it. Promise."

The shinki blushed immediately at the contact, of course Yato's words weren't helping either. But even so, there was a large smile across his lips. This was an outcome he definitely wasn't expecting.

What a day. What a day.


	2. Even if it's unplanned

"There's something fishy going on." Hiyro piped up, interrupting the conversations of every god/goddess, and shinki in the room. For whatever reason she just couldn't put a finger on it, but she just knew that there was something different from usual.

"What the heck are you talking about?" Yato asked, looking up from the comic book that he had been reading.

"Hey!" Yukine snatched the comic out of the minor god's hands. "I was still looking at that page."

The smaller blonde was sitting down next to Yato, his legs crossed in front of him. He had been reading that comic that Yato had shown him, and it was actually pretty interesting, but since the 'higher being', as Yato referred to himself by, was still reading it, the two just shared. Of course, Yukine didn't mind at all.

Ever since he had confessed to Yato, the two had become much closer than before, which really just meant that they didn't really fight or bicker nearly as much. Of course he expected there to be a little bit of suspicion, but no one really seemed to notice, or if they did they didn't bring it up. Yukine knew this much though, he wasn't about to advertise his relationship with Yato. No way in hell. Not that he really understood what their relationship was anymore. At this point in time, the blonde was pretty confused as to what Yato was to him. Sure, he was still his master when it came to the shinki business, but Yukine wasn't too sure if it went any farther past that. The two hadn't discussed it.

"I don't know." Hiyori continued. "Something's just off."

"Well if you'd like to make a simple 5 yen donation then I could find out for you." Yato grinned. Yukine rolled his eyes. Hiyori let out a half angry sigh.

"You still haven't taken care of my last wish, and you expect me to make another?" The black haired god just shrugged in response and turned his attention back to the comic, only to find that Yukine was now two pages ahead of him.

"What a minute! Don't go ahead of me!" Yato stopped his shinki's hand as it was about to turn another page.

"But you were taking too long." Yukine frowned.

"Doesn't matter. Turn back."

Yukine let out a sigh. "Fine." He let Yato reach over his shoulder and flip the pages back to where he had left off. The blonde could feel his face heat up almost instantaneously, and hoped that he wasn't blushing. He had been having a hard enough time trying to contain it just from sitting so close to the older male. The worst was that it made him want more. The blonde had spent so much time pushing his master away, trying to put space between them, and now he wanted nothing more than to close that gap. And that brought up the problem of his own confidence. Yukine new better than anything that there was no way he'd be able to build up the courage to "make a move", as some called it. He'd leave that up to Yato to define just what their relationship was, something that confused Yukine to no end. It wasn't until he saw a hand waving in front of his eyes that Yukine was able to gather up his thoughts again, and return to his place in the room.

"As I was saying," Yato began once he knew he had his shinki's attention. "We've got a job to do later today."

"What is it this time?" Yukine grumbled. What caught Yukine's attention more and poked and interest was the fact that Yato just waved him off. The blonde wasn't sure if he should be offended or just concerned over the silence. Probably both.

"We'll head over in maybe an hour or two. Maybe three." A bit of a smirk grew across Yato's face for a split second, causing a shiver to go down Yukine's spine. Looks like that, from someone like him? Yeah. Those were generally bad. But Yukine decided to not question it. He had learned better by now after all.

"If you guy's are getting ready for a job then I guess I'll go home soon." Hiyori stated.

"You sure?" Yukine asked the girl. For someone who was just saying that thing's were weird, she was certainly doing something strange. Normally the girl would always follow them around, especially on jobs.

"Yeah. I've got a test coming up anyways." Hiyori shrugged. "I need to study."

The blonde boy dropped the conversation there. Secretly he was happy that Hiyori wouldn't be there. It meant that he'd get sometime with just him and Yato. Sure, they'd be working, but that was better than nothing. So far they hadn't had a single second without someone else getting in their hair. Whether it be Hiyori, or Kofuku, or some job, there was always something. But what was he supposed to expect? They weren't telling anyone about their little… could he say relationship? That was allowed right?

Two hours went by after three comic books and two cans of soda. The two boys both said goodbye to Hiyori when she left, then began to prepare for their job.

"Have everything you think you need?" Yato turned to Yukine. He watched as his shinki checked pockets and took one last look around the room.

"I think so." Yukine nodded as he worked to fit one of the comic books into the pocket of his jacket.

"Awesome. Then come here." Yato reached out a hand towards the boy across from him.

Yukine looked at the hand and felt his face heat up. It was just a simple gesture, and really shouldn't have earned a big reaction, but Yukine couldn't help his own nerves. Slowly, he lifted a and of his own and lightly placed it over Yato's. He lifted his head and looked directly at his master. A smiled strung its way across the black haired boy's face.

"Like this." Yato grabbed onto Yukine's hand and pulled the boy closer to him. Once standing side by side, Yato forced their fingers to intertwine. As a courtesy to his weapon, Yato pretended not to notice the blush on Yukine's face. That was an image he'd like to keep to himself. "Now then, let's go."

In a flash the two teleported and appeared in the middle of the mall. Yukine looked around, a bit bewildered. "So… where exactly is this job?"

"Hmm? Oh. There isn't one." Yato said.

"Then why…"

"Isn't it obvious?" Yato coaxed his head to the side. "We're going on a date."

If it were possible, Yukine's face got even hotter. So much so that he felt like he was going to melt or erupt or something. A date? They were…. He and Yato were…. It was almost unbelievable. He started wishing that he'd paid more attention to how he looked. He should have checked his hair, brushed his teeth-_ 'Oh god. Do I even_ _look ok? I look like a mess don't I?' _Yukine felt like he remembered the warm hand that smothered his own. He focused on that contact, looked up at Yato and his ever-glowing grin, and instantly relaxed. The younger boy gave off a smile of his own, wordlessly signaling for Yato to take the lead.

The two went around to a couple of stores, looking around at a few things here and there. Even though they didn't buy anything, they had a fun time playing with some of the electronics in some stores and trying on clothes in others. Everytime they moved on to a different store, Yukine would always try to awkwardly inch their hands closer together. And each time Yato would laugh to himself and take hold of Yukine's hand, enjoying the little jolt of surprise every time. It never got old.

There was a point where Yukine stopped and wondered why he was the only one who was getting embarrassed. Maybe it was just childish, but something about being seen in public with Yato, in this way, was nerve wracking. Sure, he knew that no one was actually able to see them, but that didn't really matter for some reason.

"Hey, um, Yato?" Yukine piped up, gaining the taller male's attention. "Um, well…" In trying to figure out what to say, Yukine felt his stomach growl. For some reason it made him laugh a bit. "Could we go get some food?"

"Sure thing." Yato led the way to the food court, where the pair filled up two trays of food. Yato had paid for both of them, and even carried them to the table that they had found off to the side. Yukine almost wanted to complain about how he could have paid for and carried his food on his own. Normally he would have too, or at least tried to. This time however, well, even if he had insisted, Yukine doubted Yato would have let him. When they had sat down and begun eating and chatting, Yukine was almost surprised ast how much they had to talk about. They spent every second of their day, every day, together, but it still felt like the company never got old. "So, are you having fun?" The question surprised Yukine, so much so that he looked up from his plate and stared at the man across the table from him.

"Yeah." He finally said. The blonde could feel the butterflies in his stomach when Yato smiled back at him. That toothy grin had become quite endearing, even though originally Yukine had always thought it was a little strange. Now he regretting ever thinking that way. "I'm having a lot of fun. Thank you."

"It's not a problem." Yato reached a hand a cross the table and grabbed onto Yukine's. "But I've got one more thing I want to show you."

Suddenly the two teleported, and once Yukine had begun to make sence of where they had relocated too, he was both surprised and blown away. The pair stood on the roof of a building, he didn't know which one but it was extremely high up and had a wonderful view of the city beneath them.

"First dates are supposed to be something amazing, right?" Yato explained, scratching the back of his head. "I found this spot a while back, but I haven't shown it to anyone else, and I think we're the only ones that really come up here anyways."

A huge blush worked its way onto Yukine's face. _'Yato put this much thought into it...' _He couldn't quite believe it himself. Something like this, it was actually quite romantic, which was something he never thought the minor god would ever be capable of. Yukine looked toward his master, or was it 'boyfriend' in the context, and smiled. "Yato.. This is... I mean, this has been..." Yukine squeeze the larger hand that held his own and took a deep breath. "This is amazing."

For a split second it looked as though Yato may have blushed too, even if just the slightest moment, but that quickly went away and turned into a large smile. The minor god pulled his shinki closer too him, so that they were standing directly across from each other. He placed his free hand on top of Yukine's head, letting his fingers trail through the blonde locks briefly. Then he leaned down and placed his lips gently on Yukine's forehead. When he pulled away, he was able to get a glimps of the bright red cheeks and expression of pure embarrassment before the younger boy hid his face completely. "I'm glad you had fun today Yuki."


	3. The time we spend together

Movie theaters have never been Yukine's favorite place in the world. Mostly it had to do with the fact that the lights went out and it would be as if the whole world were completely dark, but then there was also the sheer intimacy of it. The seats were small and very close together; it's all too easy to brush up against the person next to you. Right now, that in itself cause the young shinki more concern than anything.

It had all started like it always starts. A crappy job that paid next to nothing in some movie theater taking care of something that pretty much anyone could do. The theater's manager had claimed to find some of Yato's homemade business cards scattered all around the theater and called the minor god in to take care of some issue with the film storage unit and felt bad about only paying five yen, so he gave Yato a pair of free movie tickets. Thus, how Yukine found himself wiggled into one of those theater seats, right next to Yato, with the arm rest that should have been between them folded up for extra room.

The otherwise odd god and shinki pair had been somewhat dating for a few weeks now. Yukine himself didn't quite know how to describe it purely because no one was able to put a label on their relationship. Yato still hasn't gone so far as to call himself the younger boys boyfriend, or vice versa, and neither had told any of their friends yet. But they did go on dates every so often. Even still, Yukine wasn't too sure how he was supposed to go about it. He felt strange because he would still get a little flustered everytime he would hold onto a somewhat sweaty hand, and heaven forbid they got closer than that. This predicament is what inspired Yukine's current state of flux.

A dark theater and a scary movie and Yato. Just perfect. As if the space between their chairs wasn't small enough, now the two boys were practically pushed together, mostly due to Yukine needing something to grab onto every time something jumped out at the main characters. Of course, he would never admitting being scared. Just like how he would never admit to wanting Yato to put his arm around him or whisper calming words into his ear, because that would be stupid and way too embarrassing.

Yato apparently didn't get the message. At the first chance he got, the raven haired boy had his hand wrapped around his shinki's, and everytime he felt the boy flinch he would stroke his thumb across the top of the smooth, pale skin. He was rather calm himself despite the frightening occurrences, or maybe he was just so focused on calming down the blonde by his side that he didn't even notice the monsters or screams. But whatever was going on in the minor god's head, there was no denying that he was doing just fine.

Towards the middle of the movie, or maybe it was the end, Yukine wasn't sure but he hoped it was the later, there was an eerie moment where the audio went completely silent, and the main character was shown completely oblivious to the monster that was slowly sneaking up behind him. Yukine subconsciously leaned into Yato, tearing his hand away from the other's in order to cover eyes, although he still peaked out in between his fingers. _Turn around, turn around!_ Yukine tried to keep himself at least remotely calm, and was failing. Then Yato did probably one of the best things he could have ever done.

There was a small poke at Yukine's cheek, and when the shinki looked over he was met with a bright smile despite the darkness of the theater. The same finger that had poked him then became a hand brushing the hair out of his face, and finally an arm reaching its way across his shoulders and pulling him into the minor god's chest. Normally the smaller of the two boys would have worried about the pounding his heart made or the heat that covered his face completely, but for once he was far too distracted to think about just how close the two were, and even leaned as far into the familiar jersey as he could. Every time something, or someone, jumped or screamed or did anything for that matter, Yukine would immediately bury his face into Yato's shoulder, and every time he would feel Yato tighten his hold on him.

The ending of that movie couldn't have come faster for the young teen. As the supernatural pair walked out of the theater, stepping out into the sunlight for what almost felt like the first time in forever, completely unnoticed by any of the people who passed by them. Yukine carried himself with his hands stuffed into his pockets and his head down, chanting "never again, never again" to himself over and over.

"Oh come on Yuki. It wasn't so bad." Yato followed directly behind the smaller boy, close enough that if he sped up, even just a little, they would have to be able to occupy the same space. When the god noticed that his shinki wasn't letting up, he decided to push the boy a little more. "We could maybe go see one of the kids cartoon movies next time if that would be better. Or maybe we could try a romance."

"Don't play with me." Yukine muttered. "That stuff's even worse." Before Yukine would have simply ignored Yato's remarks, writing them off as idiotic and unimportant. Now though, he found that the best way to keep the minor god from rambling on and causing more embarrasment than neseccary was to reach out and hold his hand. At least that much he was able to do on his own.

The pair continued to walk hand in hand along the sidewalks of the city. They had been together long enough that this wasn't unusual for them, and was becoming a lot more commonplace. Yukine could safely say that he wasn't too embarrassed about such a simple desplay of affection, but, in the event that the sidewalks got too crowded, or someone they both knew was near by, he would retract his hand or ask Yato to simply teleport them to their destination. For that reason, he was secretely happy whenever Hiyori was busy with school work, because it meant he could ask as he could act as he pleased, with no possible conciquences.

"We don't have anything we need to get done today, so what do you want to do?" Yato spoke up. "There are play grounds, cafés, we could just walk around aimlessly."

Yukine thought about it for a moment. It was about mid-afternoon by now, and if there wasn't anything in particular they had to get done, then he didn't have a preference. "Anything's fine."

"Hmm." Yato seemed to ponder something for a while, but if his expression was any evidence, he seemed to give up on whatever it was. Usually Yukine would take that to be a good thing, seeing as his master's rediculous ideas were endless. But somehow the idiot always seemed to come up with decent ideas for dates, or at least, none that Yukine could particularly complain about. That movie was the worst so far, and even then, Yukine would have to admit that it wasn't completely horrible. The boy remembered the warmth that had been pressed against his side. If it hadn't been for that same warmth taking hold of his hand, the blonde would have most likely ended up lost again in embarrassing thoughts. "How about we just go back home?"

"You keep calling it home, but it's really just an attic of someone elses shrine." Yukine stuck his tongue out. It was meant as a playful jesture, something he would always tease the minor god about. Normally Yato would get mad, or at least a little flustered if someone brought up his apparent lack of a shrine, but this time he just smiled. If that wasn't concerning enough, he looked directly into Yukine's eyes, leaning in slowly. The teenaged boy could feel his entier body clench._ No way. No way. _Anticipation filled his body as quickly as his face turned red._ He's gonna k-k-._ All thoughts were halted when Yato's forehead met his own, and a large hand came up and tossled his blonde locks.

"Would you rather go back to sleeping outside?" Crystal blue eyes made Yukine freeze. All he could manage was a shake of the head, before Yato stood up-right once more. "Well then, let's go back."

For the next hour, all Yukine could think about was how nervous he had been. He didn't exactly know what he had expected to happen. But he was almost certain that when Yato had gotten that close... The pair had only been together a few weeks now, and in that time they hadn't done much more than hold hands. Sure, Yato had kissed his cheek once or twice, but the thought of actually... Yukine shook his head and covered his face with the book he was trying to read. The boy was laying on his back towards the center of the large room he and Yato were currently living in. Said god was taking a nap on the floor just a few feet away. He had grown bored of just sitting around, and apparently he was the type who would be reduced to sleeping if he couldn't fid something to tinker with.

"I can't believe how embarassed I'm getting. Not cool." Yukine muttered before turning over onto his stomach and trying to focus his attention back to the book. It was something that Hiyori had leant him. Personally, he prefered reading manga or sports magazines, but a book on occation wasn't a bad thing. Unfortunately, Hiyori had a really weird taste in generas. It wasn't too surprising that everything she read was either romance or some weird historical drama, but it was still disapointing.

As if the thought of her name possessed the ability to summon her, the middle school girl came knocking on the door within minutes. She sat down and greeted the shinki, making herself at home just as always. The two chatted for a few minutes, before Yukine realized that he should probably wake Yato up. the blonde reached a leg across the gab between him and the god, poking the black jersey a few times with his foot. The small proding was enough to get the raven to stir awake.

"Ah. Hiyori's here." Chatting ensued among the three. No particular topics were covered, as per usual. It was during these moments that Yukine found himself subconciously seperating himself from Yato. He just didn't want to bring any suspicions to mind. That wasn't a bad thing right? After all, him and Yato... right? The other's didn't need to know about it. Hiyori probably wouldn't even believe him if he told her. That wasn't too surprising though. It would be weird if she knew anyways, right?

Yukine let his eyes wander around the room for a moment. It was at this point that he realized that Yato was watching him pretty closely. Staring even. Looking away only on occation as a way of avoiding suspicion. _Maybe it wouldn't matter if then know?_


End file.
